Watch: Tragedy and comedy in Bong Joon-ho’s… | Little White Lies

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Watch: Tragedy and comedy in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite

01 Jun 2020

Words by Luís Azevedo

Group of people in traditional Asian clothing holding a cake and celebrating together outdoors.
Group of people in traditional Asian clothing holding a cake and celebrating together outdoors.
Dissecting the slapstick and dramatic elements of the South Korean filmmaker’s Oscar-winning satire.

Question: what do Julius Caesar and Buster Keaton have in common with South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho? Two words: comedy and tragedy.

To celebrate the home ents release of Parasite on 1 June, we asked ace video essayist Luís Azevedo to explore the techniques Bong uses to juxtapose and bring together these two ends of the emotional spectrum.

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Watch below to find out how Bong combines elements of slapstick humour and high drama to dazzling effect in his Oscar-sweeping social satire.

Parasite is now available to own and watch online here.

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